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Learning a language wouldn’t be complete without inadvertently making hilarious blunders and accidentally saying something completely different to what you actually meant. Don't worry - you're not alone.

It’s a grey and miserable morning, and swathes of mist greet you as you walk out of your door.

Exclaiming “es gibt so viel Mist!” will not convey that there is a great cloud of mist stifling the air, but rather that there is a lot of dung strewn about, so it’s best to avoid this word unless you’re on a farm.

But in spoken German, "Mist" has another meaning - it's a swearword that you'll hear people on the railway station platform muttering angrily when they miss their train. When you start swearing in German, that's when you know you've moved well and truly past the novice stage and become a true local.

Homophones can really make your head spin. The noun “Tor” has two different meanings depending on if it has a masculine or neuter article.

Unsuspectingly saying that you saw “der Tor” (the fool) would be quite an insult, whereas saying that you saw “das Tor” (the gate) would be a perfectly innocent expression that a tourist in Vienna might use.